To: The last force for Harmony in the entirety of Liberty house. From: Armin Jansen. Subject: Himmel und Hölle in Bewegung setzen.
Our pilots have had perfunctory diplomatic contact during our response to the distress beacon. Perfunctory is insufficient - we will corroborate with their reports. More organisations appear intrigued by your case than initially expected.
We’re offering aid because we admire you. We do not have to agree with the Republic’s government or institutions to see the value in defending it. Yes, we’re an enemy of the Republic, but we are also adherents to the nature of the house project. My willingness to die for my nation does not inhibit your ability to die for yours. Above all, we are sympathetic. Five hundred years ago, we became social exiles because we dared to believe that our greatest days were not yet behind us. The same is happening to you in the present. Different causes, parallel outcomes. Yet the dangers are equally great.
If the infection overruns Liberty, Liberty’s trade dependants will fall. Since Rheinland is (lamentably) dependent upon Libertonian trade, despite our best efforts, if Liberty is infected then Rheinland will fall in-turn. We have been feuding for centuries to cut the Rheinland Liberty trade artery, an objective closer to fruition than it has been for any other generation, no small part due to destruction of the Bering gate and the mine concealment of the Bremen-New Hampshire connection.
I have a Libertonian naval officer in my ranks, Captain. The previous XO of the LNS Warspite, critically damaged by no less than Admiral John Sader once it became established within his mind that he believed the Warspite was harbouring infected crew, sans evidence.
You see, we are not so far apart after all.
I have watched the myriad of supporters your ranks possess. Considering one of those was a Libertonian Valor, nothing about your movement’s relationships should surprise you any more.
So - do you believe us? Will the ancestors of the engineers who built the Rheinland Imperial Navy, help keep the last vestiges of Libertonian freedom from destruction?
Or will both of our causes die? Forgotten, replaced by alien whims?
By surviving, by continuing the fight, you are repaying us. If you need ships, munitions, food and medical supplies, you will have them. The Tanner belt is rife with Libertonian ship wreckage - we’ve been salvaging from them for years, and have the supplies to repair any strike craft you have in your possession for at least another eight months of combat operations. If you need refuges, we will wire the co-ordinates to you on the condition we personally scrub their nav positions from your databanks upon your return to the rightful side of the law. This is a matter of great trust. We are already exposing ourselves to significant institutional risk by supporting you.
Tell us when you need us, and we will be there. That we can promise. Nutze den Tag. Seize the day.
I have to say the groups that arrived couldn't have surprised me more. To see your organisation and in such force offer us help is reassuring in these times of need.
There is enemies around every corner and as you saw not all of them are of alien origin or at least we can count that out for now.
Your offer of help is generous and we are right now looking at our options. You haven't seen our main forces and the damage they took. We know that a huge part of the Unioner movement originates from the Republican Shipyards. We would appreciate some assistance with fixing the rough damage we took. Luckily most of the internals still run as intended as that would be the biggest problem when utilising your expertise.
What I can tell you is that we certainly share your worry for extending this trust. By giving our Battlegroup into your hands we lose space to maneuver. Though our forces are trained Navy I think a confrontation between us two would be the end of our two organisations in the same moment. I don't want to insult you but I would like to play with open cards.
We need the supply lines. We need the repairs and the location to fix our main assets the Harmony and its escorts. Our forces can definitely lend a hand in protecting transports and we have two of our own.
I wouldn't know how we would reach Bering yet but I think it is no use thinking of without a plan on how we will cooperate once we arrive.
To: The last force for Harmony in the entirety of Liberty house. From: Armin Jansen. Subject: Himmel und Hölle in Bewegung setzen.
Good enough for now.
Knight. I trust you not to blow us out of the ether because you require a friend, you're desperate, and lack the inclination to do so. I am fully aware the onus of proof is on us.
Tell us what supplies you need, and where, and you will get them. One of the perks of masterminding one of the biggest smuggling rings in the colonies is that you become a paragon of just-in-time logistics.
I hadn't meant any offense but I hope you understand the difficult position I am in. There is hostiles all around and even the nomads themselves seem to be one step ahead of us.
While I appreciate your offer for supplies we need to first get our ships away from immediate danger. Getting into safer territory will be a good start. Then we will need a place to safely moor the more heavy vessels for repairs. We limit ourselves to short recon trips and patrols with snubcraft only right now.
Though what we could use it what data you can spare about the possible routes we could take from here. The Navy never had all the jumpholes or field compositions mapped.
If any supplies are currently running dangerously low it's ammunition and fuel. I don't know how to repay you, but I'll send you ships to take care of anyone trying to stop you acquiring or delivering those. I'll not mind if it's coming from a Navy facility or a corporate transport.
To: The last force for Harmony in the entirety of Liberty house. From: Armin Jansen. Subject: Himmel und Hölle in Bewegung setzen.
I’m going to make the jump that you’re still bottlenecked in New Hampshire.
We have a way out - it’s questionably secure but its less frightening than the alternatives.
There is a jump hole connection out of New Hampshire. It’s inconsistently phase aligned and sees little traffic. We believe the Commonwealth of House Liberty and the Auxesians are aware of its existence, but few other parties which could prove problematic. Perhaps Naval Intelligence.
It will take you to the Puerto Rico system - the junker’s cosmic playground. Now, the nurses are not going to be happy with you breaking and entering the preschool so usually the subject would be out of the question - the Junkers have some very significant anti-space defences arrayed within the system. Fortuitously, we have them on close working terms - I won’t pass out how close, but near enough for us to have a reasonable chance of striking out terms of passage. Securing such is our affair.
Puerto Rico is exceptional because it contains a jump connection to Bering, and thus, Tanner. That asteroid belt is impenetrable to concerted pursuit and now the trade lanes are rarely used, entirely unpoliced - even the conflicts which occurred in-system during the Federal war rarely strayed from the protection of the trade arteries. The belt is more than sufficiently massive for Harmony to conceal the entirety of itself without the Liberty Navy pursuing you, and we have more than sufficient presence within Bering to ensure your security - and to service whatever large assets you elect to carry with you. The only parties who presently attend Bering are Junkers, who keep themselves to themselves, the Xenos, who are rapidly repulsed, the occasional prospector who comes away penniless, the Zoners who care nothing for people, and us - who have the system under complete control.
I do not know who your allies are, Harmony - but we have many a comrade amidst those who occupy the far side of the Federal Republic.
In short, this would constitute a breakout. My men are myriad but they are independent. They think as individuals, not as a unit. Whilst they may be well suited for confronting individual patrols, picket ships and the occasional rogue fleet element far from salvation, they will not stand against a crack blockade of the Military's finest. We will send a squadron to support you, but they will not be enough - nor can I persuade the upper echelons of my movement to commit more whilst the Frankfurt crises lasts.
We will need more than the two of us to guarantee your exfiltration.
So tell me, what are your relations with the Lane Hackers?